Porsche and the n December 1926, five friends gathered Mille Migliain Giovanni Canestrini’s apartment to By Phil Carney Idiscuss the state of sports car racing in Italy. Heavy on their minds was the success of French automobile manufacturers Bugatti and Peugeot and the notoriety achieved by the three- year-old Le Mans endurance race. They specu- lated on the idea of starting an endurance race in Italy but were discouraged by the lack of a suitable track in the country. The discussion eventually turned to the idea of a touring race over public roads. The circuit they decided on was departing Brescia (the home of their auto- mobile club), heading south along the east coast to Rome (to flatter the Fascist regime currently in power) and then returning to Brescia via a different route along the western side of the country. The route covered approximately 1,600 kilometers. Franco Mazzotti, who had recently returned from a trip to the Unites States, noted that this distance was roughly 1,000 miles and the name “Mille Miglia” was born. The idea was initially received very coolly by both the press and the public. But Count Aymo Maggi, one of the event’s founders, had connections and asked his friends in power for help selling the idea. After the political support of Augusto Turati (secretary of the National Fas- cist Party) and Benito Mussolini was thrown be- hind the Mille Miglia, it seems everyone thought In the 1.5 liter Grand Turisimo Internazionale class there were four 356s compet- it a wonderful idea. The five founders then set ing in 1952. One was an aluminum 356 SL driven by Giovanni Lurani and Kon- off to gather the help of local town officials and stantin Berkheim which finished first in class. were rewarded with a staff of twenty-five thou- sand policemen to control traffic and crowds along the route. In addition the Automobile Club of Brescia agreed to cover the expenses for or- ganizing, publicizing and running the race. The first race was held on March 26th and 27th of the following year. The map showed a figure eight layout with the center point being the town of Bologna. Brescia was the northern starting point and Rome was the southern city before the cars headed back to Brescia. Over the next 23 years of racing, the towns through which the cars chased each other would vary signifi- cantly, making re-learning the difficult course an annual challenge. Perhaps this is why local Ital- ians had an advantage and it showed in the re- sults: Italian cars and drivers won 21 out of the 24 events. Alfa Romeo won eleven times, Ferrari won eight times and Lancia and O.M once each. Depending on whom you believe, there were two factory entries in the 1952 Mille. The only non-Italian makes that finished as over- In command of the #048 car was Paul Fürst von Metternich who finished first in all winners were Mercedes-Benz who won twice the 1.1 liter class and 80th overall. Opposite: #050 was piloted by Richard von and BMW who won once (in a 328 driven by Frankenberg (who claimed all 356s were private entries) and was a DNF. 20 Volume 35, Number 6 • Porsche 356 Registry Huschke von Hanstein in 1940). Despite Italian the starting ramp. The German Federal Republic dominance, the Mille was a very popular race had been readmitted to the FIA the previous year and even today many consider it the world’s so two new factory teams were present, the Mer- most famous open-road endurance race. In its cedes-Benz and Porsche Werk teams. Alfred first year there were 77 starters and by 1955 the Neubauer, a fine strategist and the man that number of entrants totaled 521. There was lot guided Caracciola’s Mille victory in 1931, led the of attrition though and in some years less than Mercedes effort. The Porsche team was led by 40% made it back to the finish line. Huschke von Hanstein. Von Hanstein, like Neubauer, was a Mille veteran having won for Porsche Capability BMW in 1940. (The Mille Miglia was suspended During the first four years of building a in 1939 and many do not consider the shorter sports car bearing its own name, Porsche met 1940 event, called the Mille Miglia Grand Prix, with unexpected success. The income from sell- part of the regular series. For the purpose of this ing their Type 356 sports coupe plus royalties article, it is considered part of the series.) Great being received from the even more successful Britain was represented by works teams from Volkswagen allowed Porsche engineers to con- Jaguar, Aston Martin and Healey. French builders tinue to refine the air-cooled flat-four engine included Renault and Panhard and the Italian they had developed almost two decades earlier. manufacturers Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Fer- In 1950 Porsche targeted two new displacement rari were present, of course. sizes, 1,300 cc and 1,500 cc. Although there was Six 356s were entered into the 1952 Mille a 1.3-liter race class in Europe, the primary ra- but there are conflicting stories as to how many tionale for selecting that size was likely to in- were factory entries and how many were private crease sales potential. The 1,300 cc Type 506 entries. In the 1.1 liter Gruppo Sport di Serie “Successes are no accident” was the headline on this engine became available in 1951. (Production Sports Group) the #048 car was first Porsche Mille poster from 1952. “In the world’s An engine displacement of 1.5 liters driven by Paul Fürst von Metternich and Wittigo hardest road race, five Porsches start, four victories!” equated to Europe’s favorite racing engine clas- Johann Georg Graf von Einsiedel and they fin- Interestingly, Porsche uses their entrants’ formal ti- sification since the 1920s. Because bore size was ished first in class and 80th overall. The other tles: Graf, Conti (Count) and Fürst (Prince), lending limited, Porsche chose to increase the stroke by 1.1 liter car, #50, was driven by von Franken- an air of nobility to the marque’s racing program. 10 mm and achieve a total displacement of berg and Weiselman but failed to finish. 1,488 cc. To accomplish this they used a thir- Italian journalist (and sometimes teen-piece, roller bearing crank built by Albert Porsche driver) Giovanni Lurani de- Hirth AG. Porsche’s new 1.5 liter engine was clares these to both be factory entries designated Type 502 and it produced 55 hp at while von Frankenberg claims them as 5,500 rpm. Only some sixty engines were built private entries. before it was succeeded by the more powerful The four 1.5 liter cars were in two Type 527 which produced 60 hp at 5,000 rpm. different classes, #127 a steel Werks This is the breakthrough that permitted Porsche 356 SL was in Production Sports while to feel they would be competitive in sports car #314, #322 (two steel cars) and #327 racing. (an aluminum 356 SL) were in the At Le Mans in 1951, Porsche demonstrated Gruppo Gran Turismo Internazionale that they not only had a competitive engine but (Grand Touring International Group - a car that could go the distance. It was called GTI). #314 was a private entry while the 356 SL, a minimally modified version of the #322 and #327 were entered under the auspices to dominate the race. Led by Alfred Neubauer, aluminum 356 that had been built in Austria. of Scuderia Patavium. It may seem strange as to the large German team arrived in Italy two Their combined 1.5 liter engine and 356 SL car the two different classes but a reading of the reg- months before the start of the race. They drove proved themselves capable in endurance efforts ulations seems to indicate that the cars were and memorized the course, practiced refueling by setting 11 class records during 72 hours of placed in different classes due to modifications. stops, spied on their competition and planned continuous running at the Montlhéry circuit in Regardless, #127 failed to finish the event but strategy 24 hours per day. In the end, a 300SL France in September 1951. With these success- the three Porsche GTI cars took the top three driven by Kling and Klenk finished some 5 min- ful demonstrations behind them, the Porsche positions in 1500 class. The class-winning car utes behind the Ferrari 250S driven by Giovanni Werk felt itself in a very good position for the was piloted by Giovanni Lurani and Konstantin Bracco and Alfonso Rolfo. But Mercedes would 1952 Mille Miglia. Berkheim who finished 46th overall. It was a be back. very surprising result considering they drove the This might be a good point to describe how Mille Miglia XIX last two hundred miles entirely in third gear due the cars were lined up for the Mille Miglia. Despite having over 300 cars running in to transmission failure. So regardless which Smaller displacement, i.e. slower, cars started each of the three prior years, the organizers felt were factory or private entries, the 356 Porsches first. This minimized the period roads had to be they needed to attract more entrants in 1952. As did well in their first appearance at the Mille closed. Beginning in 1949 the car’s number in- a result, the race was expanded to 16 different Miglia. dicated its start time. The race took over 12 classes including, strangely enough, one for mil- Noteworthy was the effort put forth by Mer- hours so it was common for most cars to depart itary vehicles.